00:00The final race of the year is five lights away and the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix is go!
00:08Max Verstappen's having to do something about Charles Leclerc and that is brave from Verstappen
00:13because he knew he was on the back foot and he's found something in the second phase of the start
00:17to stay ahead of the Ferrari, George Russell was close there with Oscar Piastri
00:21oh that was very very tight there as you see, Piastri hanging on there
00:25he's all over the back of Lando Norris I should say, so Lando Norris on the charge, Verstappen
00:29then Leclerc, then Piastri, up a place goes Norris
00:32that's getting tight on the apex of turn number five, can Charles Leclerc do anything now?
00:37he's riding the wheel tracks, no DRS at this stage, but he's forcing a defensive shape
00:41as in the background Hamilton and Perez go very close, but this is for the lead of the Grand Prix
00:45and Charles Leclerc's gonna take it, side by side they go once again, only momentarily
00:50once again Verstappen's bravery on the brakes keeps him the lead
00:54he just will never let it go, that's what defines him as such a fighting feisty world champion
01:00but here comes Charles Leclerc once again, he'll have to go around the outside
01:03well it'd be something if you went around the outside of there
01:07and Verstappen knew it, hugging the inside line, but surely we weren't expecting this sort of pressure
01:11how did Leclerc not take the lead? twice, he was up the inside cleanly there
01:16and Verstappen charged around the outside, Charles I think was maybe a little bit too kind to him
01:20in both of those cases, I thought Max might fly off the road at turn one
01:23but he had the space and had the margin to do that
01:27Perez has a hunt at Hamilton, Perez diving to the inside, Perez getting through
01:33and that is ninth position
01:36that is a replay of Lando Norris moving up to third position
01:41and he was clearing Oscar Piastri, that was always going to be a matter of time
01:46sometimes it can be tactical into that corner, sometimes you might wait for the second opportunity
01:51because if you get past the driver gets a chance for a right of reply
01:54Russell has waited, has the momentum, does he have the place?
01:58got to go to the outside line, can he get the move complete?
02:01Russell has got the position at the moment, mid corner though, different story on the exit
02:06it still belongs to Piastri and there is a perfect illustration of how hard it is to go around the
02:12outside
02:14very very close, beyond 200 miles per hour
02:17and having to defend into six
02:19Sergio Perez is going to make the place
02:21Oscar Piastri is off the racing line
02:22Perez looks like he is going to improve up to eighth position
02:25battles everywhere at the moment
02:26certainly heading to turn number nine
02:28the Mercedes closer than it has been at any stage
02:31still Gasly is ahead behind
02:33but what about the battle for fourth?
02:35finally the move is complete for George Russell
02:40so Norris responding
02:41and Russell, he's headed in as well
02:43and Russell's got the better stop
02:45and there you go for George Russell
02:46so that's a big moment in the context of the Grand Prix
02:50McLaren who have the two best pit stops of the year
02:52when it counted
02:545.1 seconds
02:55and George Russell got one on track
02:58gets one in the pit lane
03:01I've just damaged my front wing
03:04he looks up ahead of me
03:05look he came from a long way back
03:07but as the Alpine was locking up
03:10Hamilton I think has obviously been confused by it
03:12and just ran into the back of him
03:14Perez will want a clear, easy, efficient pass here
03:18to get past
03:19he has the DRS, that gives you an idea of how effective it is
03:22and that is slam dunk stuff
03:23up to six
03:25just looking at the comparison in lap time
03:28between Charles Leclerc and George Russell
03:29it is ebbing and flowing
03:31and there's the pass
03:32for Sergio Perez
03:34up to fifth place
03:35through he goes
03:36past Oscar Piastri
03:38and this is Lewis Hamilton
03:40trying to get past
03:41Fernando Alonso ahead
03:42Fernando Alonso tries to squeeze
03:44but he can't keep the champion behind
03:46seven time champion Lewis Hamilton
03:48two time champion Fernando Alonso
03:50two greats of the sport
03:52and no real contest
03:53this time
03:55he just brake tested me
03:57I got brake tested like
04:00way before the brake is on
04:02it looked like he actually went offline
04:04and ended up
04:06off the race
04:07let's just see
04:07did he have a moment here
04:08or what was happening?
04:09oh yeah
04:10he did actually
04:11slow down
04:12trying to force Lewis
04:14to pass him
04:15ahead of the corner
04:16so he could get DRS
04:17to randomly hit the brakes way before
04:19I don't think that's a smart move
04:22the identity of the top three
04:24still in the balance
04:25you don't see many passes into turn five today
04:27Fernando Alonso getting in there early
04:30trying something different
04:32because the straight line speed
04:33is barn door slow at the moment
04:36and yet he's done enough
04:37he's made it work
04:38race craft again
04:40pass complete
04:42Perez is going to have a bit of a say here in
04:44who wins between Ferrari and Mercedes
04:46Sainz has got Hamilton with him now on track
04:49so that shows how it's not gone well
04:51for Carlos Sainz
04:52he's got to make another pit stop
04:53Perez is looking to the inside
04:55can he get it done?
04:56Norris trying to stay there
04:58they make contact
04:59that seemed to be happening at such slow speed
05:01Perez seemed to have the place
05:03Norris seemed to turn in super late
05:05and they made clumsy contact
05:07on the apex of the corner
05:09he just crushed it to me
05:11we see
05:13Checo doesn't turn into an apex
05:15runs wide
05:17he just threw it to me
05:18there he saw
05:19there's a five second time penalty
05:21for Sergio Perez
05:22for causing a collision
05:26here's Lewis Hamilton
05:27trying to take the place away from Carlos Sainz
05:29trying to go the long way round
05:30either way he's four signs away from the racing line
05:33he'll try and do it in the next phase
05:34that was a semi-strange one
05:36for Norris and Perez
05:37it's all getting strange
05:39the overtake was very much after you
05:40no after you
05:41between those two
05:42and in the end
05:43Norris turned in on Perez
05:44and there was contact
05:45here comes Hamilton on Sainz
05:46looking for the move around the outside
05:49he'll scrub the speed off
05:51oh that'll work
05:52that'll work nicely
05:53Hamilton goes the long way round
05:56at turn number nine
05:57and gets past the Ferrari driver
05:59that is a tidy way
06:01to improve your position
06:02up to ninth
06:04let's go again
06:05down
06:06out of turn five
06:07the back straight
06:08up to 200 miles per hour
06:09once again
06:10Perez getting close
06:11trying to make it work
06:12in the braking zone
06:13fights his way by
06:14to fourth position
06:16that's bad news
06:17for Lando Norris
06:19we have had late retirements here
06:21in the past
06:22whoa that's a nice dive
06:23to the inside
06:24and we saw it from the nose cam
06:26as Sergio Perez
06:27gets by
06:28up to third on the road
06:29but that five second penalty
06:31will drop him back
06:33Max Verstappen
06:34out of the final corner
06:35for the final time
06:36Max Verstappen
06:37wins 19 Grand Prix
06:40in a single season
06:42amazing stuff
06:43he wins the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
06:44Hamilton has an amazing opportunity
06:47to get by
06:47Hamilton does get by
06:49we believe
06:50oh it was really close
06:51he's up to eight
06:52Perez is in second place
06:54but Charles Leclerc
06:55will move up there
06:56he will move up to second position
06:58when the time penalty
06:59is applied
07:00and George Russell
07:01crosses the line in fourth
07:02Tsunoda
07:03will hang on to eighth place
07:04across the line
07:06and it is
07:07an amazing end to that
07:09lap 58
07:10Max Verstappen the winner
07:11Perez in second
07:13and this was Charles Leclerc
07:14opening the door
07:16for Perez to pass
07:17so Perez had the DRS
07:19to go and check out as well
07:20but crucially
07:21it wasn't enough
07:22he was 3.9 seconds
07:24ahead of George Russell
07:25at the end
07:26so he falls back
07:26behind Russell
07:27and Mercedes Klingon
07:29to second in the championship
07:30even though Hamilton
07:31went for that pass
07:32and didn't pull it off
07:33on Tsunoda
07:33well it's time
07:35to light up
07:35one of the very best
07:37Formula 1 cars
07:38ever built
07:39the dominant Dutchman
07:40winning for the 19th time
07:42this season
07:42and Red Bull end the season
07:44beaten just once
07:45in the Grand Prix format
07:47Max Verstappen
07:48champion long ago
07:49back in Qatar
07:50Alonso fourth
07:51then Leclerc
07:52Norris
07:52and signs of the weekend
07:53to forget to conclude the year
07:55in the battle for P2
07:56Mercedes held on
07:57despite Charles Leclerc's invention
07:59on the last lap
Comments